The Big Picture
- The main characters in The King of Queens behaved badly, with Doug often preventing his wife Carrie from personal growth and commenting on her weight.
- The show is unfair to anyone different, with offensive jokes and stereotypes about homosexuality and racial diversity.
- The laugh track in The King of Queens is annoying and doesn’t help the jokes that have aged poorly or are offensive. Despite this, the show had redeemable qualities and was a witty depiction of imperfect people in New York City.
The ’90s TV comedy landscape was a whole different ball game and delivered multiple classics ranging from Friends to Seinfeld. It was a time filled with laugh tracks, bigger hair, and cheesy catchphrases for days. Nestled in the plethora of productions that dominated the screens was none other than The King of Queens. A spinoff of Everybody Loves Raymond, the show was created by Michael J. Weithorn alongside David Litt and directed by Rob Schiller.
The hit CBS series focused on delivery driver Doug (Kevin James) and his wife Carrie (Leah Remini) as they navigated humor in their everyday Queens life. To top it off, Jerry Stiller brought his signature wit to the show as Carrie’s father — and the bane of Doug’s existence. As far as ’90s sitcoms go, it did quite well with a lovable schlubby lead, a sassy wife, and a cast of quirky neighbors. Not only were the shenanigans binge-worthy, but the dry humor went a long way to bringing some depth to the table. However, in more ways than one, time has not been kind to the not-so-royal couple.
The King Of Queens
Deliveryman Doug Heffernan has a good life: He has a pretty wife (Carrie), a big television, and friends with which to watch it. Then Carrie’s goofy, annoying father Arthur moves in with them.
- Release Date
- September 21, 1998
- Creator
- David Litt, Michael J. Weithorn
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 9
Doug and Carrie Didn’t Respect Each Other
Luckily, we live in an age where humor doesn’t have to be colored mean, callous, or full-on insensitive to hit the mark. Therein lies one of the major reasons The King of Queens rubs people the wrong way in modern times. Take James’ character Doug, who was clearly allergic to anything that would lead him down the path of personal growth. On numerous counts, he went out of his way to ensure that things stayed exactly the same… and not in a good way. In this aspect (among many others) he was in sharp contrast with his wife. Carrie, who wanted a bit more out of life, often got manipulated or gaslighted.
An obvious instance could be found in Season 6, Episode 21 “Tank Heaven” where Carrie finally lands a job after a long and dreadful period of joblessness. She’s excited about socializing again and goes out of her way to form new bonds with her coworkers. Unknown to her, Doug keeps thwarting her efforts behind the scenes. Why? He simply doesn’t want Carrie to rediscover her love for art and culture. There’s also the fact that he constantly commented on Carrie’s weight, urging — no, shaming — her into staying super skinny.
While all this is horrid, Carrie is no peach herself. For the most part, she uses fear to “keep Doug in line,” which in turn backfires, since he ends up doing just about everything behind her back. Then there’s Season 8, Episode 16 “Knee Jerk,” where Carrie supposedly “accidentally” pushed Doug down a flight of stairs. The man was clearly standing at the top of the staircase, and she shoved him in anger. Overall, it’s safe to say that the pair got meaner as the show progressed, which sucked the humor out of the show.
‘The King of Queens’ Makes Fun of Minorities
While it was obviously not meant to be a politically correct show, The King of Queens would be butchered if it was released today based on DEI-related issues alone. Digging into the numerous gay gags and homophobic jokes would reveal some pretty offensive stances. Perhaps one of the most popular instances, Season 5, Episode 4 “Kirbed Enthusiasm” would not fly well in today’s world. In a nutshell, Deacon, (Victor Williams) who is concerned about his son Kirby’s (Marshaun Daniel) sexuality, forces him to learn how to play football instead of being in a musical like he actually wanted to. He’s even more worried about the whole situation when Kirby dresses up as a Powerpuff Girl for Halloween. Needless to say, that premise wouldn’t just fall flat today, it probably wouldn’t be made.
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The King of Queens also leans into some ill-portrayed racial stereotypes that would blow the lid off the whole operation in a modern-day setting. Let’s take Season 5, Episode 18 “Steve Moscow,” where the couple hires Russian handymen to work on their house. In a stereotypical twist of events, the workers drag the project out and end up milking them for more money. So, do they tackle the problem constructively? You bet not. Instead, they offered them vodka to get things moving. Needless to say, this scenario was the reason the facepalm emoji was invented. Let’s not forget the token Black character, Deacon. You’d think that in a city as diverse as New York, there would be more racial diversity on the screen. In earnest, he seemed more like an afterthought than an integral part of the cast.
‘The King of Queens’ Laugh Track Doesn’t Help
The truth is that most laugh tracks don’t age well, but in the case of The King of Queens, it does the show zero favors. Especially in cases where the jokes have aged horribly, fallen flat, or are straight-up offensive. At that point, the laugh track ends up being more of a mockery than a suggestive tool. While this may not be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, The King of Queens laugh track is more annoying than it is endearing.
But here’s the thing, there’s a lot to be said about a show that was on air for a total of nine seasons. Nestled in that sea of toxic energy and inappropriate jokes are a few redeemable qualities. For one, it wasn’t pretentious in any way. Real life is full of imperfect people trying to brave each day together. In that sense, the show got it right and added the dry humor as a cherry on top. Even more, the addition of Jerry Stiller as Arthur Spooner was a golden choice, so much so that he was referred to as “the soul of the show.” At the end of the day, The King of Queens was what it was, a witty depiction of a selfish couple and a grumpy old man trying to get by in the Big Apple.
The King of Queens is available to watch on Peacock in the U.S
Watch on Peacock